Wallboard clip



April 22, 1958 D. B. ANDERSON 2,831,222

WALLBOARD CLIP Filed June 15, 1955 2 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q 0mm R R A? m a Q R w W Q Z74 474% United States Patent Conversion Company, St. Paul, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Application June 15, 1955, Serial No. 515,719

2 Claims. (Cl. 20-92) The present invention relates to so-called wallboard clips or fasteners for mounting wallboard pieces which have tongue and groove joints.

Reference is made to my earlier Patent No. 2,317,428 showing a fastener for the same general purpose of which fastener the present invention is an improvement. For certain operations in mounting pieces of wallboard by use of the fasteners, those shown in said patent are deficient. For certain improvements in the joining edges of wallboard pieces having tongue and groove joints, the forms shown in said patent are inadequate.

The present invention involves modifications to overcome these deficiences and also modifications of structure for efficiently using the metal providing the improved fastener.

For example, so-called ceiling tile having wallboard squares or rectangles with tongue and groove joints are mounted with metal fasteners of the general type herein described. It is a common practice to begin the work at a starting line, preferably through the center of the area, and to work from it in both directions. This requires in one direction mounting a grooved edge of a free tile to the tongue of a mounted tile and in the other direction mounting a tongued edge to the groove of a mounted tile. As each free tile is being mounted, it fits onto the edge of a piece already held. in place by a secured fastener which thus lies in the formed joint, and which then holds the joined edge of the partly-mounted free tile. As soon as a tile is thus partly mounted, its opposite free edge with a tongue or a groove is fitted with a fastener, and the fitted fastener must have a projecting base which may be readily nailed to a support without danger of damaging the tile which carries the fastener.

In said patent, the fastener is shown in the forms of rights and lefts to accommodate the two different directions of working. Also, there is shown in the patent a single form which may be used in either direction of working, but with practical limitations with respect to the type of tile edge for which it is useful.

Recently, a new form of tongue and groove joint has come into existence called the wide flange type which is illustrated below. Its purpose is to permit working in one direction by nailing or stapling through the tongued edge of a tile without the use of such a metal fastener. The tile to be joined with the nailed piece is specially provided with a wide flange positioned so as to cover the nailed or stapled area. However, such method of mounting by nailing is limited to working in one direction from a starting line.

A variation of the wide flange tile is one having the wide flange structure on two parallel sides and the older type, as shown in said patent, on the remaining two sides.

The present invention has for its object the provision of a metal fastener of a single type which has a structure etficiently using the metal thereof, which may be used in both directions of operation and with the several types of tongue-and-groove tiles above described.

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Various other and ancillary objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and explanation of the invention as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fastener in its simplest form.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a fastener in its preferred commercial form illustrating reinforcing humps. in the sheet metal.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section of Fig. 2 taken on the line 33 thereof.

Figs. 4 and 4a, respectively, represent a ceiling structure of tile working from a center line to the right and to the left.

Fig. 5 represents a modified tongue and groove structure of the wide flange type, the opposite edges being shown in positions about to be matched.

Figs. 6 and 6a are similar to Figs. 4 and 411 using the wide-flange tile.

It is to be understood that the invention and the uses thereof are not to be considered as limited to and by the drawings and the explanation, other changes and modifications being contemplated within the scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In Fig. 1, a fastener is shown as made of a rectangular piece of sheet metal originally having the four sides 10, 11, 12 and '13. At a crosswise dividing line 14 to the left of center, one end is bent to form a rightangular web 15 which is further bent to conform to a predetermined tongue-and-groove joint. This is done by bending the web 15 perpendicularly to itself to form a rectangular channel of shape to fit both the tongue and the groove, said channel having in sequence from the web 15 the channel side 16, channel bottom 17 and channel side 18 which terminates at said edge 11 of the original piece. The portion to the right of the dividing line 14 provides one of two co-planar base portions 20 and 21. Base portion 20 is the longer one from the dividing line 14 and is recessed from said line, preferably providing a U-shape. The metal removed to form the recess 22 of the U is bent to a position co-planar with base portion 20 and is the shorter base portion 21 which is thereby integral with the Web 15 at the dividing line 14. The base portions 20 and 21 have near their extreme ends nailing holes 23 and 24, respectively.

Figs. 2 and 3 show the preferred form of the fastener of Fig. 1, wherein the base portions are rigidified by upset humps 25, 26 and 27, and wherein the channel side wall 18 has an upset hump 28. The upset portions also function to effect snug fits of the various parts with tiles which may vary slightly in thickness. The tongue and groove are designed to have fixed dimensions and to be located fixed distances from the exposed face of the tile, thus effecting variable dimensions from the back face of the tile to the nearer walls of the tongue and groove. The humps 25, 26 and 27 in the base portions 20 and 21 accommodate any variations in thickness and effect a snug fit, especially in using the tile to mount the fastener before nailing. By making the width of the channel opening just slightly narrower than the thickness of the tongue to fit it, the hump 28 is effective to grip the tongue and minimize sliding along the tongue. When the channel is first mounted in the groove, the hump 28 assures one region of thickness greater than the width of the groove, and this likewise effects a snug fit and minimizes sliding along the groove.

In Fig. 2, the width of the base 20 is slightly greater than the width of the remaining portion of the fastener only to facilitate the mechanical act of stamping the same from a length of tape. The notches 29, to the right in Fig. 2 of the folding line 14, show the location for the change of width.

Fig. 4 and its continuation as Fig. 40: show how the fastener is used with one type of tongue and groove joint, working in both directions from a starting line 30. First, if a suitable nailing base is not available, wood furring strips 31 are mounted where the joints are to lie. One such furring strip lies at the starting line 30. To it are to be mounted the joining tiles 32 and 33 by means of fasteners 34 initially secured to the furriug strip 31 at the center line by use of nails in both bases of the fastener. As shown, the fastener 34 is mounted with its channel opening toward the right thus to receive the tongue 35 of tile 32. This leaves the opposite grooved edge 36 of tile 32 free under a strip 31 but unattached to it. Then one or more fasteners 37 are mounted in the grooved edge 36, the fit being tight to hold the fasteners firmly in position to be carried by the tile itself. Thus, each fastener projects its base which is then secured to strip 31 by nail 38. The next tile to the right is secured in the same manner. The length of the base 20 is such that the nail 38 may be readily driven by a hammer without danger of damaging the tile 32, of course, in the hands of a good operator.

In the other direction from the starting line 30, as shown in Fig. 4a, the tile 33 is matched into position to be held by the tile 32 and any fasteners 34, leaving its tongued edge 45 free under a strip 31 but unsecured to it. Then one or more fasteners 41 are mounted onto the tongued edge with a snug fit to be held thereby. This leaves on each fastener its projecting base 21 which is then secured to strip 31 by nail 42. The base 21 is sufficiently long to permit driving the nail 42 without damaging the tongue on the tile 33. The next tile to the left is mounted in the same way.

Fig. 5 represents a modified tile having a wide flange 46 at the exposed face which projects well beyond the opening of groove 47 above it, and for the matching edge a tongue 48 defined by a long side wall 49 to lie over flange 46 and a short side wall 50 to fit in groove 47. By this structure, the tile 45 may be nailed or stapled through sidewall 49 so that the wide flange 46 covers the nail or staple head as shown in Fig. 6a.

In Fig. 6, there is a starting line 51 and furring strips 52, as described above. At the starting line, fasteners 53 are secured either by one or by two nails with the clip channel opening to the right. Then a tile 54 of the kind shown in Fig, 5 has its tongue 48 fitted into the channel. At the opposite edge, one or more fasteners 55 are mounted in the groove 47 and the base20 is secured to strip 52 by a staple or nail as indicated by numeral 56. As seen in Fig. 6, the tongue 46 is endangered when the line for the staple or nail 56 is too close to it. Accordingly, the length of the base 20 must be predetermined by the length of the wide flange 46 and must be such as to bring the nail hole 23 forward of the flange 46 a sufficient distance to protect the flange in normal driving of the staple or nail 56. Then a second tile 45 is marched into place and the operations are repeated moving to the right.

In the other direction, however, as shown in Fig. 6a, the exposed tongue-edge of the tile 45 may be either stapled or nailed to the tuning strip or be secured by a fastener. in Fig. 6a, both methods are shown for the purpose of illustration. First, a tile 57 is positioned at the starting line 51 to the left thereof thus exposing its tongue-edge unsecured below strip 52. Because of the wide-flange structure, a nail may be driven into the fnrring strip through the wide face 49 (see Fig. 5). The nail may go in one of several directions as illustrated by the nail 6G driven slantingly through the tongueedge to pass through the body of the tile 57. Then another tile 61 like tile 45 is matched with it, thus exposing izs ton ue-edge below a strip 52. To this tongue-edge is mounted a fastener 63 with the result that the shorter base 21 projects a sufficient distance to receive the nail 64. T hen an additional tile 66 like tile 45" is mounted to the left. It is shown as secured by a staple 67 passing vertically through the side wall 49 (Fig. 5), so that the wide flange 46 covers the staple. Thus, nails, staples or clips may be used.

Although the figures and description above show the structure only in cross-section, it is to be understood that along any joint there may be included as many fasteners as are necessary. In small tile, two fasteners per edge are sufficient, but as the dimension of the edge is lengthened, more fasteners may be used to prevent possible sagging of the tile, or excess weight per fastener.

A special feature of the invention with reference particularly to economy in the use of metal is the provision of the longer base portion 20 entirely to the right of the joint-filling channel. As seen in Fig. 6, the base to be nailed forwardly of the wide flange 46 requires a special length predetermined by the Width of the flange 46. Because of the fact that the short base 21 is metal removed from the metal of the original blank which provides the base 20, economy dictates that the long base 21 be the one as shown lying entirely to one side of the jointfilling channel and in the direction in which the channel opens. Otherwise, that is, reversing the position of the channel relative to the base portions from that shown in Fig. 1, the short base 21 must have its length predetermined by the Width of the wide flange 46 and this makes the longer base portion 20 longer than necessary and, therefore, wasteful of metal. Since it is desirable to have the nailing as close to the joint as possible, and since one base must be longer than the other need be, it is important that the shorter base be formed of metal taken from within the longer base, as described.

In actual practice, it has been found that when the nail hole 23 in the longer base is /2-inch forward of the tip of the wide flange, an ordinary workman may drive the nail without damaging the flange. A fit-inch distance of the nail hole 24 in the shorter base from the tongue 35 in Fig. 4 is also suitable.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the fastener of the present application is useful like the fastener of said Patent No. 2,317,428 for the type of tongue-andgroove joint shown in said patent, and additionally useful for the wide-flange tongue-and-groove wallboard shown in the present application, for which the fastener of said patent is unsuitable owing to the particular directionai relation of the parts. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the exact dimensions and forms shown in the accompanying drawing and that numerous changes and modifications are contemplated as falling within the scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fastener in the form of cut and deformed sheet metal for pieces of wallboard and the like for mounting two such pieces having edges provided respectively with tongue and groove for a matched joint, said fastener being originally in fiat substantially rectangular form and cut and bent to form two co-planar base portions meeting at a line so located as to divide the full base into a short portion and a long portion, the long portion being recessed from said line and the short portion being the metal severed from the long portion to provide the recess therein, the remainder of the metal extending at right angles from said base portions at said dividing'line and being formed to lie in the joint between joined tongue and groove pieces, the perpendicular extension of the base portions being bent in the direction of the short base and parallel thereto to provide one wall of a channel, and also bent to provide a channel adapted to encompass a tongue and lie in a groove of joined pieces, each base portion near its end having a hole for a nail to mount the fastener, the length of each base portion and the position and the hole therein being sufiiciently removed from the base of the channel to permit hammering 6, having a groove to receive the tongue and a wide flange fitting over said wider side wall, the longer base portion of the fastener extending well beyond the edge of the wide flange to permit nailing to a support.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Anderson Apr. 27, 1943 Hasenburger et a1. Sept. 7, 1943 

